Vera is 12 years old in class 5 at Tabaka Academy. Her mother has a severe mental illness, so Vera and her 2 siblings live with their grandparents, Peter and Veronicah. Vera’s father has not been seen for years. Vera, as the oldest child, takes on a great deal of responsibility as her grandparents are elderly and struggle to cope. Each morning before school Vera walks 3.5km to collect water from the village spring, she does the clothes washing, feeds the chickens and tends the family cow, all before going to school. Vera is a grave risk of having to leave school to care for the family and find work to support them.